Screw-driving.



P. HULSMANN.

SGBEW DRIVING.

ArPLIoATIoN FILED MAB. 12, 1910.

Patented Oct. 31, 14911.

2 BHBETBz-SHEBT 1.

P. HULSMANN.

SCREW DRIVING. 'APPLIUATION FILED nn. 12, 1910.

Patented 0011.311911.

z vsumma-14111421 a.

fig,

UNITED sTArEs PATENT oFFIcE.

FREDERIC HULSMANN, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

' SCREW-DRIVING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application led March 12, 1910. Serial No. 548,814.

', eral nature.

I-Ieretofore, drivers which take hold of the screw have operated after the manner of an -external clutch or chuck embracing the screw-head, and hence have been subject to the serious objection .of inability to retain or obtain their hold during the last part of the driving or the rst part of the. drawing operaton.

My obj ect is to avoid liability to the objectionable slippage and canting of the driver with relation to .the screw, to enable the screw to be driven flush or a flush screw to be drawn without uncouplingthe driver or changing its relation to the screw, and to enable the lscrew to be placed and guided by means of the driver in any position, whether overhead, lateral, slanting or vertically-upright, and to be screwed into or out of place manually or otherwise with greater ease than heretofore. To this end I provide a coupling, such for example as a screw-threaded coupling, between the driver and the screw, together with means for preventing their relative rotation when it is desired to turn the screw by means of the driver. Y The two may be operated as a unit very much after the manner of a gimlet, and may be readily connected and disconnected. My invention therefore resides in the novel combination of these two members as well as in the particular construction of the driving tool, as more fully hereinafter described and claimed.

Of the accompanyng drawings, Figure 1 represents a vertical section of a preferred embodiment of my improved screw-driver. Fig. 2 represents a side elevation thereof with the screw attached. Fig. 3 represents a vertical section and elevation of the special type of screw adapted for novel coperative employment-with the improved driver. Fig. 4 represents a top plan view of the screw. Fig. 5 represents a vertical section and elevationy showing a modified form of driver.

Fig. 6 represents a section of the lower part of this modification, at right-angles to Fig'. 5. Fig. 7 represents an elevation and section showing a second modfication of the driver. Fig. 8 represents a similar view showing a third modification of the driver with the .screw attached.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, 10 indicates a wood-screw having the usual threaded. shank 11 and a head 12 formed with alined transverse grooves 13,13 corresponding tothe end portions of the usual groove. or driver-slot. The middle of the screw head is drilled and tappedto form a female coupling member or screw-threaded socket 14 adapted to be engaged by a corresponding member on the driver.

15 indicates the driver, having a handle 16 in which is fixed a tubular stem 17 occupied by a longitudinally-slidable bar, stem- `device or plunger 18. The lower end of this bar is screw-threaded at 19 toconstitute a male coupling member complemental to the threaded socket 14 in the screw head. For the purpose of moving the bar relatively` to the stem I have shown a spring 20 in the upper part of the'stem pressing downwardly against the bar, together with a transverse pin 21 whose ends project through slots 22 in the sides of the stem 17 and thereby serve Patented oet. 31, 1911. l

as handles or abutments which enable the bar 18 to be manipulated. This pin, in cooperation with thesides ofv the slots, also constitutes a spline connection between the stem 17 and bar 18, preventing the relative rotation of the two, but permitting their relative axial sliding movement. There is also a thumb-nut 23 screwing externally on a threaded part 24 of the tubular stem and adapted to engage the. pin 21.

The lower end of stem 17 is provided with two downwardly-projecting screw-turning keys, blades or rotational locking members 25 whose Shanks are forced between the stem and a retaining ring 26 thereon, these keys being adapted to engage the sides or shoulders forming the grooves 1 3 on the lscrew head, these keys and shoulders on the driver and screw respectively constituting rotational locking members which serve to prevent relative rotation of the two when it is desired to turn the screw by means of the driver. This rotational locking action is positive and effective in either direction, so that the screw is positively turned both in driving and in drawing it.

ln preparing to 'drive the screw 10, the nut 23 will be retracted to allow a considerable projection of the threaded couplinginember 19, and the latter will be screwed into the threaded socket la in the screw head. Then on withdrawing the bar 18 either directly by manipulation of the pin 21, or with the nut 23, and preferably retaining it by means of said nut, the key members 25 are forced into and positively locked in the grooves 13 on the screw-head, and the driver and screw 4may then be handled as a unit which is adapted to be operated much after the manner of a gimlet. But this particular order of events, namely first bringing the driver and screw into coupling relation and then into screw-turning relation, while desirable and incident to the several forms of the driver here shown, is not to be regarded as essential to my invention in a broad sense.

The screw may be guided and placed by means of the driver in any position accessible for driving, by the use of only one hand of the operator grasping the handle 15, and it may be driven in place with great facility and without any of the objectionable canting and slipping experienced with the ordinary method.

After the screw is driven the driver may readily be disconnected by unscrewing the nut 23 until the'lrey-members 25 are retracted from the grooves 13, and then turning the driver to unscrew the lower end of bar 18 from the socket 14. In attaching the driver to the screw for the purpose of withdrawing the latter the same operations are performed as in preparing to drive the screw, and the latter may then be easily turned out of its hole. One of the advantages of my invention is that it does not require an expensive construction of the screw, since ordinary screws may be taken and their heads drilled and tapped to form the coupling-socket 14.

l Another advantage is that the coupling is located within they lateral confines or-rotational path of the wood-engaging parts of the screw-head, so that the driver does notl mar the woodwork when the screw is fully drlven, can be readily released thereafter, and can be readily rengaged without displacing any wood.

ln the modified form of driver shown in Figs. 5 and 6, which is adapted for the same style of screw as before, instead of mounting the screw-coupling member slidably on a rigid stem carrying the key members, as in Figs. land 2, I make the stem 18 rigid with the handle 16 and provide a sleeve 17 slidl ably mounted on said stem and depressed bya spring 20. The sleeve is provided with handle projections 21 for raising it` against the pressure of spring 20, and its lower end is provided with the key-members 25 formed ,on a single plate 27 xed'to the sleeve 17.

This plate passes through a slot 28 formed the key-plate.

in the stem 18 so as to prevent relative rotation of the stem and sleeve, and it straddles the threaded coupling-member 1f) which is formed integrally with, or is rigidly attached to the stem 18.

Two other modifications are represented in Figs. i' and 8,-the former showing a key-V plate 27 adapted to be slid laterally and longitudinally into place in the slot 28 of the stem 18 to straddle the threaded coupling-member 19 and attached to the body of the screw-driver only by a chain 29 for security` Fig. 8 represents the key-plate 27 is pivoted at 30 on the stem 18 and adapted to be turned into and out of operative position by connection through a rod 31 with a linger-lever 32 having a spring 33 which normally depresses Various other modifications could be made, especially in the construction of the driver, without departing from my invention.

I claim,"-

l. The combination of a fastener-screw having a threaded stem and a head thereon formed with a female coupling member, a driver, complemental positive interlocking members on said screw and driver for prevent-ing relative rotation of the two in either direction, and a male coupling-member on said driver engageable by relative rotation with the female memberA of the screw and movable with relation to the interlocking member of the driver to permit successive engagement of said interlocking and coupling members.

2. The combination of a fastener screw having a head vprovided with a female screw-thread and atransverse groove or slot,

`and a threaded stem below 'said head, of a driverhaving a projection and a relativelymovable male threaded coupling member adapted to engage in succession with the sides of said groove and the female thread of the screw head respectively.

,3. The combination of a wood-screw comprising a threaded stem having a conical head or enlargement, a driver, and a separable connection located below the top of the screw-head and within the rotational path of its wood-engaging portions,.and including complemental coupling and positive 120 rotational-locking members on the screw and driver adapted to interlock the tw'o as to relative rotation in both directions and as an arrangement in which to axial separation, said members on the driver having separate movements for bringing. them into coupling and rotationallocking relation respectively with the screwhead members.

'4. A screw-driver having a male screwthreaded member for engaging a comple-- mental female member on a screw, and a iso key adapted to enter the screw slot or groove and shiftable relatively to said screwthreaded member to permit successive engagement of the latter and the key with the corresponding parts of the screw.

5'. A screw-driver having a downwardlyprojecting key adapted to enter the groove 'in a screw head, and a downwardly-projecting screw-threaded male coupling-member laterally adjacent to said key, said key and member 'being mounted for relative axial sliding movement.

6. In a screw-driver, the combination of relatively-slidable stem devices having at their outer ends respectively a male screwcouplm member and a screw-turnmg member, an means for preventing relative rotation of said stem devices.

7. In a screw-driver, the combination of stem devices havin respectively a screwthreaded male coupllng member and a laterally-adj acent screw-turning member, a spline connection between said stem devices which prevents relative rotation -of the two but permits the screw-turning member to be retracted while the coupling member is being screwed into a mating member on a fastener-screw, and a nut screwing on one of said stem devices and coperating with the other deve for positively retracting said coupling member with relation to the screwturning member.

8. In a screw-driver, the combination of a handle havinga stem rigid therewith, a

screw-turning projection rigid with the outer end of said' stem, and a male screwcoupling member adjustably mounted with 'respect to said stemand laterally adjacent to the aforesaid projection for engaging a complemental coupling-member in the screw head.

9. In a screw-driver, the combination of a handle having-a hollow stem provided with a longitudinal screw-turning.- projection at its outer end and a plunger mounted to slide in said stem and having-a male screwthreaded outer end laterally adjacent to said projection. v l0. In a screw-driver, the combination of a handle having a tubular stem provided .with a pair of screw-turning members at its outer end, a plungerl mounted to slide in,

said stem and having a screw-threaded outer end between said members, a lateral projection on said plunger, and a nut screwing on said stem and engaging said projection.

11. 'In a screw-driver, the combination of a handle having a stem provided at its outer l end with a palr of screw-turning members and formed with a slot, a plunger mounted to slide in said stem and screw-threaded at A its outer end between said members, a sprin 

